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RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION _ 
AND THE 
AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL 





ve 
B. F. LORANCE, M.D. 


Author of Medi-Cult, the A-B-C of the Medical Profession, Fellow of 
the A. M. A., Formerly Superintendent of the Hebron Public 
Schools, Member Auburn Board of Education 
for Seventeen Years 


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BOSTON 
RICHARD G. BADGER, PUBLISHER 
THE GORHAM PRESS 





CoprpyRIGHT, 1925, py RicHARD G. BADGEB 





All Rights Reserved 


Made in the United States of America 





The Gorham Press, Boston, U. 8S. A. 


THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS REVERENTIALLY 
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY 
OF THE 
AUBURN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 


WHICH, FOR MANY YEARS, HAVE BEEN A CONSTANT 
INSPIRATION TO THE AUTHOR 





PREFACE 


Just at this time, more persistently and in louder tones 
than ever, the charge is being made that the public schools 
of our land are Godless. 

The peoples of the Earth, throughout history, have had 
their religions and other systems for the training of their 
youth. Many of those agencies have been truly great. The 
purpose of this little volume is to sustain the contention that, 
of all the institutions past or present ever designed to build 
into the lives of man’s offspring the attributes of God and 
the tenets of Christ, the one which stands preeminent is the 
AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL. 


| B. F. LoraAnce. 
Auburn, Nebr. 


October, 1924. 


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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 
I Education at Public Expense, An 


American Institution 
Unfriendly Criticisms 
Psychology of the Child . 
Historical Data 
Moral Evolution 
Sacred History 
A Divinity Over All 
An Ordinary American Public School 
The Attribute, Stability 
The Attribute, Truth . 
Honesty PS On a 
Methods in the Lower Grades 
Teaching by Precept 
Some Tests of Efficiency . 
The Superintendent : 
The Teacher in the Public Schools . 
The Board of Education . 
The Bible in the Public Schools . 
Missionary Societies 
The Parochial School . 


Extra-Curricular Activity 


Our Public School The Greatest American 


Institution 


PAGE 


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RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION 
AND THE 
AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL 


I 
EDUCATION AT PUBLIC EXPENSE, AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION 


Or the many features which cause the United States of 
America to stand out in sharp contrast with other nations, 
there is no institution more note worthy than our public 
schools. The idea that a state is in duty bound to furnish 
educational facilities to all its youth alike, at public expense, 
may be said to be distinctly American, for in no other land 
does just such a custom prevail. 

The thought that “All men are created equal and endowed 
with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty 
and the pursuit of happiness” was born in the United States 
of America. But that thought is no more distinctly 
American, no more vital, than is the thought that the nation 
which would hope to endure permanently can make sure of 
realizing that hope only by providing for its youth universal 
education at public expense. 


il 


II 
UNFRIENDLY CRITICISM 


It might seem strange that it should be so, yet this, our 
system of universal public education has always been the 
object of unfriendly criticism from certain quarters, but, 
probably, at no time in the history of our nation has there 
been such a flood of censure along this line as at the pres- 
ent moment. In recent months long and numerous magazine 
articles have been written and books published all setting 
forth many startling statements; such as, that more than 
half of our school children will steal, will lie, cheat and do 
many other things not in keeping with upright, Christ like 
living. In fact the authors of these books and magazine 
articles, with much care and labor, have applied tests to 
our youngsters and have made up long tables of statistics 
to prove their point that our public schools are filled with 
thieves, liars, deceivers, and various other kinds of crooked 
individuals. But the thing which is most significant is the 
fact that the purpose of all this effort is to bring an indict- 
ment against the American system of universal free 
instruction; to carry to the minds of the people of our land 
the thought that the condition of affairs alluded to, exists 
primarily because the young folks in our public schools 
receive no religious training; no instruction touching such 
cardinal virtues as honesty, truthfulness, fair dealing, and 
the other nobler attributes which go to make up sterling 
Christian character. 

If the contentions set forth in such articles as have 
been appearing in recent months in the magazine, Good 
Housekeeping, in the Literary Digest of March 15th, 1924, 


12 


Unfriendly Criticism 13 


and in the book written by Walter S. Athearn and published 
by Geo. H. Doran Co.—If such contentions really have a 
substantial foundation, then truly every good citizen in this 
fair land may well stand aghast. 

A few quotations from the articles and books referred to, 
follow :— 

“The public schools in which our children are trained are 
Godless.” 

“Acknowledgment of God is practically barred from the 
public school system of the United States.” 

“All religion has been tossed out through the door of the 
public schools.” 

“It seems that it is not the business of the public schools 
to teach the children the plain and simple morals of every day 
living; the result is the unparalleled growth of crime of all 
sorts in the United States.” 

“Morals, somehow, have dropped out along the road of 
educational progress.” 

“Tests show that more than one-half of our American 
school children have an unethical outlook on life; that more 
than one-half of them will cheat, lie, and steal.” 

When magazine writers and the makers of books will go 
to so much trouble, will spend their own, supposedly precious 
time, using up large amounts of magazine and book space, 
while consuming the valuable hours of the many thousands 
of people who may read their offerings, the purpose being 
to indict the public school system of America, sustaining 
their contentions by such thoughts as cited in the above 
quotations, then it certainly becomes the duty of every indi- 
vidual who is imbued with a feeling of loyalty to our Stars 
and Stripes to pause, to reflect deeply, and to put forth a 
serious effort to subject the entire situation to a searching 
analysis. Such a procedure necessarily involves the getting 
down to basic laws and first principles. 


Kil 
PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CHILD 


To such magazine writers and authors, who have been so 
unfortunate as never to have had the opportunity, afforded 
by close contact, to study first hand, that most interesting 
of all things, child nature, the suggestion is here kindly of- 
fered that it might be well to spend at least a few hours read- 
ing some recognized text book on psychology, pedagogy, or 
child development. 

From such a source many interesting facts may be . 
learned, basic truths familiar to evert tyro in the merest 
rudiments of pedagogy and child life. A partial list of these 
basic truths follows :— 

(1) Every infant, when it is born into the world is pos- 
sessed of only the lower or animal propensities, all the 
higher or spiritual faculties, at that time being at the zero 
point. 

(2) Starting at this zero point which obtains at birth, the 
higher or spiritual attributes of the child’s nature develop 
and unfold very slowly, the animal or lower propensities 
always strongly predominating in childhood and youth, the 
higher or spiritual qualities gaining the ascendency only 
in the late decades of life. 

(3) The struggle between the lower and the higher 
attributes of man is the fiercest of all combats, the higher 
elements not by any means being always the victor, at any 
age, even under the most favorable circumstances. 

(4) This idee i between the upper and the lower co- 
horts in man’s nature is life long, incessant, terminating only 
when death has closed the scene. 


14 


Psychology of the Child 15 


(5) After the home, the church, society, and our public 
schools, all cooperating in their efforts, have labored inces- 
santly at top speed for a long period of time, using all agen- 
cies available in an attempt to aid the child in subjugating 
the baser propensities of his nature, while striving to bring 
the higher attributes into the ascendency, failure often 
crowns the endeavor. 

(6) The child, even several years after its birth, is a 
stranger to reason, judgment, perception, honesty, veracity, 
charity; coming into the possession of these attributes only 
to a limited degree in childhood and, then, only after the 
most diligent endeavor on the part of all those concerned in 
its development. 

The foregoing basic truths so familiar to every parent 
and to all others having the most rudimentary knowledge of 
child nature, may be boiled down into simple language, thus: 
—no child was ever born into the world, but that would 
fib, cheat, filch, and do many other regrettable things until 
after a long process of most careful effort it has been 
trained away from such tendencies. 

In the light of all this, what should be said of that indi- 
vidual who would charge all these inborn weaknesses of the 
child’s nature to the free public schools of America? 

But, getting away from the fundamental facts of psychol- 
ogy and pedagogy, let us turn our attention to another field. 


IV 
HISTORICAL DATA 


AN effort has been made to prove that, “The public schools 
of America are Godless.’ That, “All religion has been 
tossed out through the door of the public school.” That, 
“Morals, somehow, have dropped out along the road of 
educational progress.’ In view of the effort mentioned, it 
seems proper that one should direct the attention of some 
folks to a few facts of history extending back over the last 
four or five centuries. 

(1) In the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 
during the days of witchcraft in England, more than 30,000 
people were burned at the stake; and the folks who put those 
innocent people to death in that cruel fashion were ardently 
religious, much given to prayer, in fact, called upon God to 
aid them in their orgies of human destruction. 

(2) As ardently religious were those high dignitaries, 
who, during the days of the Spanish Inquisition, put to death 
more than 340,000 people in the name of God, 32,000 of 
the number being burned at the stake; and this vast num- 
ber of innocent creatures were thus cruelly executed for no 
other reason than that they dared to express a religious 
belief not in harmony with that of their executors. 

(3) It was intensely religious, praying men, who, in the 
name of God, threw John Bunyan into prison, and kept him 
there more than twelve years simply because his religious 
views were out of harmony with those of the high and very 
pious clergy of that day. 

(4) It was men, reputed to be very Godly, and of the 
most ardent religious tendencies, who summoned Martin 


16 


Historical Data 17 


Luther before the Diet of Worms, and, there, cruelly perse- 
cuted him solely because his religious views were not in 
accord with their own. 


V 
MORAL EVOLUTION 


It is not meant, here, to strenuously preach the doctrine 
of evolution, but who can deny, that, in the matter of spirit- 
ual and moral uplift, there has been, even in the last few 
centuries, evolution of a decided type; and, who, excepting a 
certain select few, would dare to deny, that universal educa- 
tion at public expense, has had a large share in blasting 
the miserable darkness of bygone days, and thus aiding in 
the great upward march? 

Certainly, some of the children in our public schools will, 
under temptation, tell falsehoods, will take things not be- 
longing to them, and will cheat. Of course they will do such 
things; they were born with such tendencies; every one hav- 
ing the slightest acquaintance with child nature knows that; 
but who can imagine an individual, one who has completed 
a twelve year course in any American public school, and has 
reached the status of full grown manhood—who can imagine 
such an individual taking some poor old innocent woman out 
and burning her at the stake, simply because she did not 
agree with his religious beliefs? 

Lest the paragraphs, which have immediately preceded, 
might appear to have been said in a spirit of derision or 
sacrilege, it seems proper that it should be here stated that 
the author of this little treatise is a staunch believer in the 
tenets of Christ, is an elder in the Presbyterian church, the 
father of six children, all of whom are adherents to the 
Christian religion; and, if he had a thousand children he 
would want them all to be followers of the Lowly Nazarene. 


18 


Moral Evolution 19 


However, he would wish all those children to be one 
hundred per. cent. in their attendance at the public school, 
as he would implicitly trust that institution to do its full 
share, in cooperation with the home and the church in 
training those children to be such followers. 

As pupil, teacher, parent and board of education mem- 
ber, the author has spent his entire life in close contact with 
the public school. It is in the light of this experience that 
this full confidence is here expressed. 

When future ages shall have dispelled the mists, so that 
all men may come to see clearly, and to regard, not creed, 
but real worth as the crucial test, then the American pub- 
lic school will stand out in its true light. 


VI 


SACRED HISTORY 


THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 


In the foregoing paragraphs reference has been made to 
a number of incidents familiar to all people having merely 
a speaking acquaintance with profane history. Here, for 
the edification of some people, who have made it their 
business to prove that there are liars and thieves among our 
children in the public schools, it might be mentioned that 
sacred history affords some facts having a bearing upon the 
situation under consideration. 

Nearly 4000 years ago the following words were written 
and recorded in the Holy Bible in the 20th chapter of 
Exodus :— 


UE We LOOSEN N on Ba NG BEE UE AGS OR Boy hl Di Sy a 
“THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS.” 
VELOC S RUA TS NO) Dias Dye 


These injunctions were issued to full grown men and 
women, not to school children. There must have been some 
thieves and liars in those days or else such commands would 
not have been put forth—Yes, and every one with the least 
scrap of prophetic vision knows that there will be plenty of 
need for just such injunctions a million years from now, 
when the hills have all fallen down and rolled into the 
sea; and the pyramids of Egypt have crumbled to dust and 
have been blown away upon the sands of the desert. Why? 
Because man was created with that dual nature from which 
there is no escape until the last trump shall sound. 


20 


Vil 
A DIVINITY OVER ALL 


Let us all agree that there is a Divinity ruling the Uni- 
verse; that that Divinity created the world for the sole pur- 
pose that it might be the abode of man. By that course of 
reasoning, then, the very greatest—the most sacred institu- 
tion upon this planet is the home—the home where dwell 
together, father, mother, love, and little ones. Yes, let it be 
agreed that this world was made for man; that man was 
created in the image of God; then, certainly, that agency 
which can take the children of man and build into the lives 
of those children the attributes of God, is little less divine 
than God himself. Remember, it is the purpose of this 
effort to sustain the contention that the American System of 
Public Education is just such an agency. 


21 


VIII 
AN ORDINARY AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL 


LET us go to one of those institutions, the public school in 
some fair sized town any where in the United States of 
America, and let us see if we can ascertain what is’ going 
on there. We will assume that it is in the morning of the 
first Monday in September. In order not to scatter our 
efforts we will confine our observations to the primary 
department. 


22 


TX 
THE ATTRIBUTE, STABILITY 


As the bell rings for assemblage, forty children, five years 
of age, enter the primary room. As the hands of the clock 
point to the hour of nine, the teacher taps the bell at which 
signal all these little folks are seated. Certain exercises are 
gone through with for a period, when, exactly at a definite 
time specified in the program, the children are dismissed to 
return to their homes. As punctually as they were assembled 
and dismissed on the first day, they are assembled and dis- 
missed on the second day; exactly so for the third, the 
fourth, and all the days of that week, that month, and, in fact 
for every day of that entire year. 

During the second year of the school life of these chil- 
‘dren, this same exactness as to the time of their assemblage, 
their recitations, and their dismissal is adherred to; the same 
for the third and fourth years, in fact for all the years until 
the twelve year course has been completed and they have 
graduated from the high school. Throughout this entire 
period their teachers have used all laudable means to induce 
these children never to be tardy or absent. 

Well, what about this punctuality and regularity as ap- 
plied to these children during their twelve years of attend- 
ance at this institution, an American Public School? Why, 
there is very much about it. One of the outstanding attri- 
butes of God is regularity, as is evidenced everywhere in na- 
ture; the revolution of the Earth upon its axis and in its 
course around the sun; the coming and going of the seasons; 
the budding of the trees and the falling of the leaves, all 
of which being accomplished through the centuries without 


23 


24 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


the least variation. The regularity practiced by these chil- 
dren during the twelve years of their school life has lead 
them, irresistibly, to conform to one of God’s basic laws, 
and has, as irresistibly impelled them to adore regularity, 
solidity, stability, truth, in fact all things substantial; and to 
hate the irregular, shoddy, unsubstantial things and prac- 
tices of life. The building of the habit of regularity into 
the lives of these children is to that extent the building of 
God into their lives. To deny the truth of the foregoing 
statement is to deny the existence of all the natural laws of 
growth and development. 


x 
THE ATTRIBUTE, TRUTH 


AsiIpE from the practice of, and the putting of themselves 
into conformity with that attribute of the Deity, regularity, 
the lives of these children, while in the primary grade and 
throughout the twelve years of their school career are filled 
with features of the most interesting and worth-while type. 
At the very outset of their school life they begin to deal with 
facts—with truths. They learn, for example, that 2 and 
2 make four. As progress is made, they come to deal with 
the more complex but unerring truths and laws of mathe- 
matics, language, chemistry, physics, and the other sciences, 
as well as coming into contact with the fixed facts of history, 
literature, and the other curricular subjects; the entire 
procedure being one continuous, diligent search for, and the 
coming into contact with truth. 

What agency or institution can more effectually build into 
the lives of individuals a love for that noble attribute of 
God, truth, while thus instilling a hatred for that which is 
false—what institution can more effectually do that thing 
than the institution which, for a period of twelve years 
systematically affords an opportunity for truth seeking and 
truth contact? 


25 


Al 
HONESTY 


THE attributes, stability, veracity, honesty, in fact all the 
nobler traits of man are so related one to the other as to be 
inseparable, hence the process which weaves into the char- 
acter of an individual one of these qualities, from the very 
nature of things, implants them all. The child that, with 
unerring regularity, for a period of twelve years, is con- 
tinuously brought into contact with truth, necessarily has 
developed within his soul a tendency to be honest. 

In each of the rooms during the twelve years of experi- 
ence in its public school life, the child is in constant contact 
with truth, sincerity, and purity of action along all lines. In 
the entire program there is no sham, no false note, no shoddy 
contrivance, no artificial garb, no strained formality, nothing 
but straightforward, earnest endeavor, in an atmosphere 
where there is constant good will and kindly attitude of 
teacher toward pupils, pupils toward teacher, and pupil 
toward pupil, all so balanced as to irresistibly engender 
respect for law, order, and constituted authority. 

Then there are the sweet songs the children sing, the pure 
sentiments in the books they read; the refining influence of 
the cleanly appearance of teacher and associates, together 
with the orderly, wholesome arrangement of the entire sur- 
soundings. In short, in this institution, the American public 
school, whose business, primarily, is to build character while 
incidentally imparting knowledge, the whole procedure of 
weaving the attributes of God and the tenets of Christ into 
the life of the child is carried forward so effectually, so 
naturally, that the child is wholly unconscious of the process. : 


26 


XII 


METHODS IN THE LOWER GRADES 
TEACHING MORALS BY EXAMPLE AND SUGGESTION 


FotxKs who are holding to the thought that, “Religion, 
somehow, has dropped out along the road of educational 
progress’ should take a day off, at some convenient time, 
and visit, for a few hours at least, the lower grades in any 
public school in our land. In addition to the features noted 
in preceding paragraphs, a close inspection of the charts, 
primers, and reading books used by the children should be 
very interesting and instructive. It will be found that these 
charts, primers, and reading books are literally filled with 
the pictures of birds, animals of all kinds, domestic and wild, 
butterflies, flowers. trees and others of God’s creatures; and 
this reading material is all so arranged as to take the children 
out into the fields and woods on imaginary excursions, where 
all these animals, represented as dressed up like real human 
beings, are conversing with each other always in the most 
courteous and kindly fashion, the baser traits of the animals 
never being alluded to. In these pleasant, gentle, imaginary 
conversations, which the animals are represented as carrying 
on among themselves, the traits and habits of each are set 
forth in a fashion which the children can easily understand. 

Could there possibly be any more effective way of lead- 
ing the child to have an adoration for the Deity than to bring 
that child into close contact with all those things created by 
the Deity? Again, could it be possible to devise any better 
plan for inculcating those noble attributes of Christ, love, 
purity of heart, kindness, gentleness, regard for the interests 
of others, and all the other traits recognized as essential in 
the make up of a high grade Christian character? 


27 


28 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


In the training of the children in our public schools, the 
whole procedure in the first three grades rests upon that 
basic law, well established, that the child at that early age is 
largely a creature of imitation, that it learns, not by precept, 
but by example; that it will unconsciously act like and 
become like those things which it sees and with which it 
comes in contact. Hence this scheme of bringing these little 
folks into close association with nature and the animal world. 

It will, doubtless, be amusing to teachers and all others 
who are familiar with procedures in vogue in our public 
schools, that, in a treatise of this kind, concrete examples 
should be paraded in the way of extracts taken from the 
child literature used in the lower grades. All the folks 
familiar with the customs used in the schools for the training 
of our little ones, may think the following quotations and 
little stories wholly uncalled for. Ail such are asked to 
remember that there are people who hold to the view that our 
public schools are, “GODLESS;” that “IT SEEMS THAT 
TPIS NOT TER BU SUNS Soh CL aie OF ests 
SCHOOLS CO) RA CE DEON COL USL MON vee) 
PLAIN AND SIMPLE MORALS OF EVERY DAY 
LIVING.” It is for the edification of such folks, that the 
following excerpts are here set forth. The quotations are 
from little books in actual use in the lower grades of a 
school with which the author is familiar, and are such as 
may be gleaned from the literature in use in the lower 
grades of any public school anywhere in our land. 


“T love little pussy, 
Her coat is so warm; 
And if I don’t tease her 
She’ll do me no harm. 


“T will not pull her tail, 
Nor drive her away, 


Teaching Morals by Example and Suggestion 29 


But pussy and I 
Very gently will play. 


“T will pat little pussy 

And then she will purr, 
And thus show her thanks 
For my kindness to her.” 





“Little red bird in the tree, 
In the tree, 
In the tree, 
Little red bird in the tree, 
Sing a song for me. 


“Sing about the roses 
On the garden wall; 
Sing about the bird swing 
In the tree top tall.” 





“There’s a merry brown thrush, 
Sitting up in the tree, 
He’s singing to me, 
He’s singing to me, 
And what does he say, 
Little girl, little boy? 
‘Oh, the world’s running over with joy 
Don’t you hear? Don’t you see? 
Hush. Look In my tree 
I’m as happy as happy can be.’ 


“And the brown thrush keeps singing, 
‘A nest, do you see, 
And five eggs, hid by me in the juniper tree? 


30 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


Don’t meddle. Don’t touch, 
Little girl, little boy, 

Now I’m glad, now I’m free; 
And always shall be, 

If you never bring sorrow to me.’ 


“So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree, 
To you and to me, to you and to me. 
And he sings all the day, ‘Little girl, little boy 
Oh, the world’s running over with joy, 
But long it won’t be 
Don’t you hear? Don’t you see? 
Unless we’re as good as can be?’”’ 





“How dreary would the meadows be 
In the pleasant summer light, 
Suppose there wasn’t a bird to sing, 
And suppose the grass was white. 


“And dreary would the garden be, 
With all its flowery trees, 
Suppose there were no butterflies, 
And suppose there were no bees.” 


The foregoing rhymes are merely examples of the end- 
less number of like verses with which all the books for little 
public school children are teeming. The purpose of these 
delightful lines is to engender, in the heart of the child, love, 
gentleness, kindly consideration for all created things, in- 
cluding, of course, all his associates. Aside from the rhymes 
with their ennobling sentiments, all these primers are filled 
to overflowing with short stories in prose, designed to kindle 
in the child breast all the nobler attributes. A few of these 
stories are here submitted in abridged form. 


Teaching Morals by Example and Suggestion 31 


JOHN AND THE WATCH 


John was passing along the road one day when he spied 
a fine gold watch lying upon the ground. Now, thought 
John, I can have a fine watch of my own; so he slyly carried 
it home and hid it away until bed time, when he placed it 
under his pillow; but as soon as he had gone to bed, he could 
‘hear the watch ticking, ticking, ticking, and to John it 
seemed to say, “John, John, a thief,” “John, John, a thief”; 
and this constant ticking kept John awake until nearly morn- 
ing. When John awoke he hurried to his mother, told her 
the entire story and asked his mother to help him find the 
owner. When the watch had been returned to the man who 
lost it, John was very happy. 


ELLEN AND THE HAZELNUTS 


Ellen was a little girl whose parents were very poor. The 
frosty nights of autumn had come, but Ellen’s father did 
not have the money to buy her a pair of shoes, so she had to 
go to school bare foot; this caused the other children, who 
were comfortably clad, to laugh in a fun making way, thus 
very much saddening the heart of little Ellen. Learning of 
this, Ellen’s father told her that if she would go to a patch 
not far away and gather hazel nuts on Saturday and sell 
them for enough money to pay half on a pair of shoes, he 
would furnish the other half, so that she might have the 
new pair for the next week. Accordingly Ellen worked 
most of the day Saturday, filling a good sized bag, which she 
left in the patch. When her father returned in the even- 
ing from his day’s labor he and Ellen went for the nuts, 
only to find the sack empty. So Ellen, heavy hearted, had to 
go to school again on Monday without shoes. She there 
told her school mates of her misfortune in having some one 
take the nuts, which she had labored so hard all day Satur- 
day to gather. A neighbor boy, Thomas, who was the 


32 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


guilty one to take the nuts, upon hearing Ellen’s sad tale, 
became penitent to the extent that he went to the home of a 
farmer near by and engaged himself to pick up potatoes 
after school each evening until he had earned enough money 
to make up to Ellen the value of the hazel nuts she had 
gathered. As soon as Thomas had received his pay for the 
work he had done he hurried over to Ellen’s home, made a 
confession of his wrong doing and gave the money to 
Ellen; then all were happy, for Ellen came to school the 
next day with her new shoes. 


THE ORANGE MAN 


An orange man was passing through a village. His oranges 
were in two baskets hanging over the back of the horse 
he was riding. When he came to the tavern he dismounted 
and asked the proprietor of the inn to point out to him some 
honest boy among a group of school children near by—a boy 
who could be safely trusted to guard the horse and oranges 
while the owner should eat his dinner. Accordingly the 
proprietor pointed to a boy named Charles. Charles was 
called and the horse and oranges placed in his keeping, he 
being promised an orange for his trouble. In a few minutes 
Edward came along and asked Charles to give him an 
orange, to which request Charles replied that he could not 
do that, as the oranges did not belong to him. Then Edward 
tried to push Charles aside and take one by force, but 
Charles resisted; whereupon Edward attempted to pass 
behind the heels of the horse to the basket on the other side. 
In this attempt, Edward disturbed the horse which gave him 
a vicious kick, sending him sprawling upon the ground. At 
Edward’s cries of pain the people came rushing out of the 
tavern to learn what could be the matter. When a man, 
who had been standing near, told how it had all occurred, 
the orange man said to Charles, “My son, I promised to 
give you an orange for your trouble in watching my horse 


Teaching Morals by Example and Suggestion 33 


and oranges, but now I shall give you a hat full, because 
you were true and honest.” But Charles said, “No, I 
earned only one and that’s all [ll take.” Then the orange 
man took Charles’ hat and filled it with oranges. Charles 
took the oranges offering many thanks, but said that he 
would keep only one for himself and give the others to the 
children near by who were his playmates. When Charles 
had finished distributing his oranges among his mates there 
was great rejoicing among the group and much praise for 
Charles because of the courage he had displayed in doing 
his duty; but Edward, in much pain and with shame on his 
face limped down the street without any orange and with 
every one pointing him out as a thief and a sneak. 


XIII 
TEACHING RY PRECEPT 


ONE could compile a large volume made up of selections 
culled from the many types of primary readers used in our 
public schools, the aim of such literature being to inculcate 
in the soul of the child, in a manner wholly unconscious to 
him, all the noble traits of Christian character. This, the 
only rational plan of building character in early childhood 
is followed out through all the twelve grades; but, as soon 
as the child has reached the age when such will be effective, 
teaching by precept is added to the program, and carried out 
on a larger scale from year to year as the child advances, 
as may be evidenced by the few selections clipped from the 
vast store filling the reading books in all the grades. 


“How can a little child be merry 
In snowy, blowy January? 


“By each day doing what is best; 
By thinking, working for the rest; 
So can a little child be merry 
In snowy, blowy January.” 





“And now at last the sun 

Is going down behind the wood, 
And I am very happy, 

For I know that I’ve been good.” 





“Speak gently, it is better far 
To rule by love than fear; 


34 


Teaching by Precept ao 


Speak gently, let no harsh word mar 
The good you might do here.” 





“Be you to others kind and true, 
As you’d have others be to you.” 





“Plant a loving thought 

In all that you may do, 
And that seed will blossom 
Into love for you.” 





“Happy as a robin, 
Gentle as a dove, 
That’s the sort of little child 
Every one will love.” 





“Do all the good you can 
To all the people you can, 
In all the ways you can, 
Just as long as you can.” 





“Little gifts are precious, 
If a loving heart 

Helps the busy fingers, 
As they do their part.” 





“One gentle word that we may speak, 

Or one kind, loving deed, 

May, though a trifle, poor and weak, 
Prove like a tiny seed; 

And who can tell what good may spring 
From such a very little thing?” 


36 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


“Love the beautiful, 
Seek out the true, 
Wish for the good, 
And the best do.” 





“Beautiful hands are those that do 

Work that is earnest, brave, and true, 
Moment by moment, the long day through. 
Beautiful feet are those that go 

On kindly errands to and fro— 

Down humblest ways, if God wills it so. 
Beautiful faces are those that wear— 

It matters little if dark or fair— 
Whole-souled honesty printed there.” 





“Have you had a kindness shown? 
Pass it on. 

“Twas not given for you alone, 
Pass it on. 

Let it travel down the years, 

Let it wipe another’s tears, 

Till in heaven the deed appears, 
Pass it on.” 





“Four things a man must learn to do, 
If he would make his calling true,— 
To think without confusion clearly, 
To love his fellow men sincerely, 

To act from honest motives purely, 
To trust in God and heaven securely.” 





“Howe’re it be, it seems to me, 

’Tis only noble to be good; 

Kind hearts are more than coronets, 
And simple faith than Norman blood.” 


Teaching by Precept 37 


“We search the world for truth, we cull 
The good, the true, the beautiful, 

From graven stone and written scroll— 
From all old flower-fields of the soul; 
“And, weary seekers for the best, 

We come back laden from our quest 
To find all that the sages said 

Is in the book our mothers read.” 





“Tf I can stop one heart from breaking, 
I shall not live in vain; 
If I can ease one life the aching, 
Or cool one pain, 
Or help one fainting robin 
Unto his nest again, 
I shall not live in vain.” 


XIV 
SOME TESTS OF EFFICIENCY 


In any locality, if one should wish to take some step which 
might afford an opportunity to form a correct opinion as to 
the character of the public schools, the efficiency of the school 
management, and the true worth of the teaching force, there 
could be found no better procedure than to make a visit 
to the school building or buildings at the hour of 8.15 to 9.15 
any morning. 

Upon making such a visit at the hour indicated, if the 
management is high class, it will be observed that, when the 
gong sounds at 8.30, the doors will swing open, at which time 
the pupils will begin entering the building, all quietly passing 
to their respective rooms and taking their seats, there being 
no whispering, talking, or jostling in the halls or in any of 
the rooms. 

Again, in addition to the fine discipline prevailing every- 
where, in the halls and schools rooms, on the school grounds, 
and upon the streets as the pupils journey to and from 
school, if all is well, it will be noted that there is an air of 
business on all sides, all the rooms being filled to their capa- 
city; the seventh and eighth grades will be large, and the 
high school building taxed to the limit to take care of the 
attendance. These facts about the grammar grades and 
the high school should be regarded as most significant, since 
it is possible to keep these upper grade pupils in attendance 
only when the school is made attractive and high class in all 
respects. 

Many things happen in every community every day in the 
week, but, of all the events which can possibly happen any- 


38 


Some Tests of Efficiency 39 


where, the passing of the children and young people on 
their way to and from school is the most interesting. This 
is true for many reasons. First, because the young people 
engaged in this act are the very joy and hope of the homes 
from which they come, embodying all that makes life worth 
living for father and mother; constituting the brain, bone 
and sinew—the very foundation upon which the nation must 
place its sole dependence a generation hence. 

This event is most interesting because these young people 
are a sure index of the type of the homes from which they 
come; a quiet, respectful, orderly bearing on their part 
proclaims to the world that they come from homes where 
abide a love for law and order, and all other qualities which 
go to make up the highest type of citizenship. The manner 
of their journeying homeward sets forth in terms more 
forceful than any words can tell, the character of the school 
attended; if, on their part there is noisy disorder, vulgarity, 
the pushing of pedestrians from the side walk, and other 
forms of rowdyism, one would not need to visit the school 
in order to learn what is going on there; for, children ex- 
hibiting disorderly conduct on the streets can come only 
from a disorderly school. Any young person who receives 
training in a public school which is provided with the best 
equipment, with a high class teaching force, under able sup- 
ervision, becomes the possessor of an asset which will be 
of the highest value when the school days are over and the 
duties of life are entered upon. 

In this connection is should not be forgotten that any com- 
munity which, to any extent or degree lowers its school 
standards, to that same extent and degree will cause itself to 
be shunned by the better class of teachers, and will send out 
from its public schools, into the great battle of life, young 
people to struggle on under the heaviest of all handicaps— 
a shoddy education. 

Certainly every one should stand for the practice of the 


40 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


most rigid economy in the management of all school af- 
fairs, but it should be remembered that our children and 
young people journey through this golden period of their 
school days just once. It is most vital, therefore, that they 
spend those young days in a school provided with the best 
possible equipment, instructed by a superior teaching corps, 
all under the directing guidance of able, first class 
supervision. 


XV 
THE SUPERINTENDENT 


It certainly is worthwhile that all should have clear ideas 
as to just what things constitute proper guide posts in deter- 
mining the efficiency of any school system, yet it is equally 
important to have correct standards by which to measure 

“the worth of a superintendent. 

There are those who seem to think the true test of high 
merit in any school superintendent is, among other things, 
that he should be a hale fellow well met upon the street 
corners and in the places of business, and, possibly a high 
man on the golf links. Measured by such standards, all 
the men who now hold high rank in the school world would 
be utter failures. The fact of the matter is that a public 
school superintendent is paid his salary to do just three 
things. First, he should know intimately the school work 
to be done. Second, he, and he only should select the 
teaching force to do that work. Third, he must see that 
that teaching force does that work. 

The public school superintendent who functions ably in 
these three respects is an ace, and fills the measure of suc- 
cess to overflowing, if, in addition it can be said that he is 
a clean, upstanding, Christian gentleman. Any worthy 
superintendent is willing to have himself and the schools 
he supervises judged by the standards mentioned in the 

foregoing paragraphs? Really, are any other standards 
worthy of consideration? 


XVI 


THE TEACHER IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 


AsInE from the home, with its saintly influence of mother, 
the most potent factor for good in any neighborhood is the 
teacher in the public school. Because of her training she 
embodies in her personality all the ennobling attributes of 
a sterling character; custom and the law require that she 
should be such an individual. The mere contact of the child 
with such a personality is of priceless value. Money is 
powerless to render adequate recompense to the well pre- 
pared, devoted, conscientious teacher. To her is due not only 
the paltry dollars paid; there is due in addition the whole 
hearted lasting gratitude of every member of the community 
in which she labors. Aside from the, at best, inadequate 
salary and lasting gratitude, there are due in addition all 
other things,—a kindly, helpful, charitable, not too exacting 
attitude on the part of all her patrons. 

The function of the teacher is to deal with children—im- 
mature creatures in which all the baser propensities predom- 
inate, while all the higher attributes are dormant, and are 
yet to be developed and brought into the ascendency. The 
nature of the task is such that the very best that the most 
excellent teacher can do with any group of children is to get 
fairly good results. To get results which are wholly satis- 
factory is an utter impossibility. When the teacher has 
finished her day’s work, or the work of the week, or the 
term, of all those who might express dissatisfaction with her 
efforts, she is the most dissatisfied. 

When the term opens in the fall, the teacher is inspired 
with a spirit of bounding optimism; has set up her ideals, 
her high standards; she enters upon her duties happy and 


42 


The Teacher in the Public Schools 43 


all aglow with righteous enthusiasm; but before the first 
day’s labor is ended, by virtue of the fact that she has 
been dealing with rollicking immature creatures, all her 
ideals and standards are trailing in the dust, while her en- 
thusiasm and optimism have fallen well nigh to the zero 
point. 

In some respects the teacher may be likened to the painter 
or sculptor; all three are builders; the teacher, of character; 
the painter, of pictures; the sculptor, of statuary; but in 
many respects the work of the teacher differs from that of 
the painter or sculptor. 

The painter or sculptor, when the day’s work is ended, 
can stand back, pull himself up very straight, fold his arms 
and, with a feeling of the utmost satisfaction in his heart, 
behold the results of his handiwork; he can even call his 
friends in to to exult with him, to congratulate him, while 
they all look upon this visible, this tangible evidence of his 
skill. Why not? The painter or sculptor, in the first place, 
has his ideals all set up in his own mind; he labors with 
materials—brush, paint, canvas, or chisel and stone; tangible, 
visible things, over which he has perfect control. 

It is not so with the teacher, except that in the beginning 
of her day’s work she has her ideals all set up in her mind; 
but, all day long she labors with that invisible, intangible 
thing, child nature, in an endeavor to build that other in- 
visible intangible thing, character. When the day’s labor 
is ended and the children have departed, with nothing tan- 
gible or visible to bear testimony to her laudable efforts, 
with high ideals shattered, lonely and in silence, tired in 
body and broken in spirit, she slumps down into her chair 
to prepare the next day’s work. 

For the teacher in the public school, who, by virtue of the 
work she does, stands next to the sainted mother in the 
home, let us all resolve that the remuneration shall be ample, 
and that there shall ever be. entertaind in the hearts of all, 
the fullest measure of respect and kindly consideration, 


XVII 
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 


A very important factor anywhere is the Board of Edu- 
cation. Upon the personnel of the board depends, largely, 
the success of the school. The board has many duties to 
perform, chief of which is the choosing of a superinten- 
dent. 

Having used wisdom in selecting a superintendent, and 
having placed that superintendent in complete charge of the 
plant, the most serviceable thing that the members of the 
Board can then do is to retire into the background and re- 
frain from tampering with the machinery. 


44 


XVIII 
THE BIBLE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 


A very good man in a certain town holds family worship 
in his home every evening when the day’s work is done. 
The Bible is read and prayer is offered to the Deity. The 
mayor and all the members of the council in that town might 
think the custom of that good man a most excellent one; 
they might even earnestly wish that the same thing could 
be done in every home in that neighborhood, but that town 
council would not think of passing an ordinance compelling 
every home in that jurisdiction to adopt such a custom. To 
do such a thing would be to assume authority not delegated 
by law. 

The author of these pages has served as member of a 
board of education for more than twenty-five years. On one 
occasion, while visiting the schools, one of the teachers was 
found opening her school, every morning, with prayer and 
the reading of the Bible. All the members of our board 
were fine Christian gentlemen; they all thought the custom 
of that teacher most admirable, but they could not go over 
to the teacher on the other side of the hall and request her 
to do likewise; nor could they, as a board of education, make 
a regulation requiring the other members of the teaching 
force to adopt such a custom. 

For a town council, a board of education, or any other 
body to attempt to legislate on such a matter would be to 
go back to the methods in vogue during the Dark Ages. 
The Pilgrim Fathers left Europe and came to these shores 
for no other reason than that the rulers of those days insisted 
upon passing laws setting forth the manner in which they 


45 


46 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


should worship God. In this land, those Pilgrim Fathers 
established a government, and wrote into the Constitution 
of that government the clause guaranteeing to all men the 
right to worship God according to the dictates of their own 
conscience. 

To those who are so solicitous about having the Bible and 
religious exercises in our public schools, it might here again 
be mentioned that prayer and the presence of the Bible do 
not necessarily imply the inculcating of the attributes of 
God and the tenets of Christ, as is evidenced by the fact, 
that the high priests, during the days of the Inquisition, 
prayerfully directed their gruesome work with Bible in hand. 

Again, all authorities who ever wrote a paragraph on 
pedagogy, and all teachers worthy of the name who ever 
taught a day in any American public school, agree that the 
primary purpose of the public school is to build character— 
to drill into the life of the pupil those attributes which go 
to make up high grade citizenship; and they all agree that 
this character building can be done just as well or better, 
without the formal act of prayer and Bible reading. 

The public school is maintained by money derived by law 
_ from all citizens alike. In any locality there may be people 
of the Catholic, the Hebrew or even the Mohammedan faith; 
to offer the Bible to people of such beliefs in an institution 
which they are paying their money to maintain, naturally 
engenders an atmosphere of contention, a thing inimical to 
the fostering of the tenets of Christ. Thus the thing sought, 
Bible reading, defeats its own aims. | 


DA b,4 
MISSIONARY SOCIETIES 


Apropos of the flood of criticism being directed at the 
American public schools, it may be here stated that all those 
who have been observant, have doubtless taken note of the 
fact that missionary societies and other protestant organiza- 
tions have of late manifested a tendency to join in these 
unfriendly comments. In view of the situation, it does 
seem really very much worth while that all groups of people 
interested in laudable effort should pause and carefully con- 
sider, at least the three following propositions: 

(1) Are the attributes of God and the tenets of Christ, 
in any way, being overlooked in the training of our young 
people in the American public schools? 

(2) The promoters of the Parochial school idea are ar- 
dently religious; with an intense fervor, believing their 
form of worship and their system of educational training 
for their youth to be superior to all others; therefore, sin- 
cerely wishing and earnestly hoping to perpetuate their 
forms and systems and bring them into ultimate supremacy. 
They would not be loyal to their creed and doctrine if this 
were not So. 

(3) It is possible that this rivalry between the American 
public school system and the Parochial idea is bolstered up 
by a more intense spirit than appears on the surface. At 
any rate it is a contest between two opposing ideas. Under 
that inexorable law, the “Survival of the Fittest,” every con- 
test is a life and death grapple. When two opposing groups 
come into contest it is a common practice, one of the basic 
laws of strategy, for the leaders of one group, in the hope 


a 


48 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


of attaining victory, to put forth an effort to bring about 
dissension in the ranks of the opposing forces. Under this 
circumstance, might it not be well for us all, while ever on 
the alert standing staunchly for our own ideals, to earnestly 
ask the question whether some of this unfriendly criticism 
directed at the American public school, may not have its 
origin with the promoters of the Parochial idea, and, thus 
be propaganda designedly put out. 


XX 
THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL 


In many localities there may be found the Parochial school. 
Let no unkind word be said against this sectarian institution 
of learning. Let nothing be done to hinder its endeavors. 
Those who have fostered the Parochial school, and those 
who, as instructors, preside over its destiny, are imbued with 
the purest of motives. The constitution of our land guar- 
antees to them the right to their form of worship, and their 
plan of giving religious instruction to their youth. 

If the home life of the Father superintendent, whose resi- 
dence is usually near by; if the attire of the teachers, and 
other formal customs—if these and all other things con- 
nected with the Parochial school are devoid of all artificial- 
ity, all dross—have in reality the quality of pure gold, and 
are not, as some believe, the last faint glimmerings of the 
Inquisitional days, then the Parochial school is of all others 
that superior agency for inculcating the attributes of God 
and the tenets of Christ. Standing thus upon a firm foun- 
dation, it will ultimately dominate all things. 

Let no man fear, mock, or hamper. The American pub- 
lic school and the Parochial school exist side by side in this 
land. Each must stand upon its own merit. Regardless of 
motives; regardless of beliefs, these two institutions, the 
American Public school and the Parochial school must, like 
all other things, yield themselves to the operation of that 
universal, immutable law—The Survival of the Fittest. 


49 


50 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


It is felt that most Protestant clergymen agree with the 
members of the teaching profession that our American pub- 
lic schools, as now constituted, do function one hundred 
per. cent. in their endeavors to build into the lives of our 
children all the traits exemplified in high grade Christian 
character. 

The public school is the state. It has taken ages, rivers 
of blood and countless treasure to separate the church from 
the state. The price paid justifies the belief that this sep- 
aration will endure permanently. The nature of the criti- 
cism, now being directed at our public schools, seems to in- 
dicate, that the inclination on the part of the church to 
put its hand upon the state, still lingers. 

Certainly, all good people earnestly desire to see the 
church endure permanently. Whether the church, Papal, 
or Protestant, may render more secure, or more precarious 
its permanency, by seeking in any way to formulate policies 
for the state, is a question, it would seem, which may well 
receive the serious consideration of all thoughtful persons. 


XXI 
| EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES 


In many localities there are citizens and even school board 
members who hold to the view that the time of pupils and 
the teaching force should not be taken up with basket ball, 
foot ball, and other athletic sports which are out side the 
regular course of study, that is extra—curricular; and es- 
pecially do they contend that public school funds should 
not be used to support such activities. 

Such persons might well be asked these questions :— 
What is education? For what purpose do our public schools 
exist? Should any feature or activity which is really worth 
while be regarded as extra-curricular? 

With our present advanced standards in all fields, cer- 
tainly, all must agree that our public schools exist for the 
purpose of affording our young people that training which 
will, to the highest possible degree, fit them to assume the 
duties of citizenship, when their school days are over. 

It would require a good sized volume to enumerate and 
properly define all those attributes, which go to make up 
high grade citizenship. However, no individual can be said 
to have that preparation for citizenship, which will assure 
the fullest measure of success, until he has formed correct 
habits of thought and conduct; has come to delight in honest, 
earnest effort; has developed a keen sense of justice, with 
a high regard for law and constituted authority; has learned 
to cheerfully and courteously join with associates in any 
effort for the common good; has it well ground into his 
character to be self reliant, while devotedly loving truth and 
righteousness, and abhoring that which is base—in short, 


51 


52 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


has developed a well rounded mentality, and a perfectly 
poised morality in a clean vigorous body. 

No one will decry the value of text books in the training 
of the minds and souls of our young people in the public 
schools; but, to emphasize the importance of knowledge 
gained from that source, and from other things strictly 
within the limits of a fixed curriculum, to the exclusion of 
outside features, is to take a position not in harmony with 
advanced thought in the field of education. Probably, no 
keener insight into this situation was ever exhibited, than 
that manifested by Ralph Waldo Emerson, when he said, 
“The parent sends his child to school for the teacher to 
educate, but the fact of the matter is that the other children 
educate him.” Doubtless, Emerson meant to say that the 
text book part of the child’s education is really a minor fea- 
ture in the whole program, while, the development of a 
vigorous physique, and the bringing out of those attributes, 
just alluded to, is the chief function of our public schools. 

If it be admitted, that the chief function of our public 
schools is character building, and the giving to our young 
people that training which will, in the highest degree, fit 
them to assume the duties of citizenship, then it necessarily 
follows, that any feature or activity, whether it be intra or 
extra-curricular, which contributes to that end, is worthy of 
the encouragement and support of all concerned, even if 
such support should mean quite substantial financial aid. 

In places where a gymnasium has not been provided for 
in the construction of school buildings, it is quite possible, 
at least in some instances, that difficulties might confront 
boards of education, were an attempt made to put through, 
a program of basket ball and other in-door sports. In such 
localities, the necessity of renting and properly equipping a 
suitable building could easily present knotty problems. In 
the present condition of high taxes, patrons do not always 
cheerfully support boards of education in making expendi- 


Extra-Curricular Activities 5G 


tures of money in such directions. Yet when the proposition 
is subjected to a searching analysis, what can there be in 
any school program, which will more effectually bring out 
those very necessary sterling attributes of character and 
qualities of body, than a well sponsored basket ball game, or 
other athletic sport? 

If any one should put emphasis upon the proviso, just 
mentioned, that the athletics as well as other extra-curricular 
activities must be well sponsored, taking the ground that 
athletic coaches and other like instructors are expensive 
propositions, the reply would be, that no patron or tax 
payer ever objects to the employment of high salaried teach- 
ers, who can properly sponsor instruction in the three R’s, 
the curricula branches in the grammar department, or even in 
the high schools. So the real pinch is to get all interested 
parties to see the point, that these extra-curricular features 
have a really worth while place in the public school pro- 
grams. 

Let us come back, then, to the question just propounded. 
What can properly sponsored basket ball games and other 
athletic sports do for our young people in the public schools? 
Can it be successfully argued, that the study of mathematics, 
the sciences, or the languages will go farther in quickening 
the initiative, the perception, the reason, the memory, and 
the other noble attributes of mind and soul, than clean 
basket ball games and other wholesome sports? 

The curricular branches just alluded to certainly have 
their high place in any school program; but what can more 
effectually lead a youngster to put the proper rating upon 
the ego; to learn the game of give and take; to see the beau- 
ties of rectitude and square dealing; to come to more clearly 
appreciate the worth of righteous effort; to learn to adore 
a clean vigorous physical life—what can more effectually 
give valuable training along these lines than basket ball con- 
tests, or any other properly directed athletic activity? 


54 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


Other valuable features attach to even a basket ball or 
foot ball game. There is the incentive to win the game by 
honest, earnest endeavor. There is the motive to make the 
proposition a success, financially, using recognized methods 
in judicious advertising, fixing proper admission charges, 
and the desirable experience acquired in an effort to attain 
these ends. 

But, getting away from athletics, there is the school an- 
nual, a proposition in many schools, involving a financial 
undertaking of several hundred dollars. When a class sets 
itself to the task of putting out a school annual, all the 
mental and moral faculties of its members are actively 
brought into play to make the effort a literary, an artistic, 
and a financial success; all of which affords valuable experi- 
ence and training which can be acquired in no other way. 

It has been the aim here to definitely point out that any 
school board can well afford to make up any deficit occurring 
in the putting over of any well sponsored extra-curricular 
activity. Nevertheless, it should be strenuously urged, in all 
cases, that the utmost endeavor should always be put forth, 
by all concerned, to the end that every extra-curricular ac- 
tivity should finance itself. In fact a group of pupils 
engaged in the promotion of any such feature should be 
given to understand by the authorities, that the attaining 
of financial success by all honorable means is just about 
absolutely a sine qua non. Otherwise, the endeavor would 
be robbed of that which should be the goal in all laudable 
effort, viz, success. 


XXII 
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THE GREATEST AMERICAN INSTITUTION 


DEsPITE adverse criticism, a searching analysis must lead 
any one to the conclusion, that, to-day, the greatest power 
for good, the greatest character builder in America, is the 
public school. 

Yes, our system of public instruction is well nigh perfect 
in all its phases. The trouble is not with the system and 
the work it does, but with the fact that even in this free 
land the masses of the people have not yet come to fully 
appreciate its worth. As a result a very large per. cent. of 
children are allowed to drop out of school after finishing 
the sixth or seventh grades; thus these young folks do not 
pursue for a sufficient length of time this fine program de- 
signed for character building. Doubtless, many of these 
youths quit the pure associations of the school room because 
their natures are too much out of harmony with these up- 
lifting things; they have the impelling impulse, which of 
course is natural, to get away from the pure surroundings 
and to place themselves in touch with the irregular, baser 
things of life with which their souls are more in harmony. 
As soon as this tendency to discontinue school attendance 
is discovered by parents, all influences possible should be 
brought to bear to counteact the impulse, for it is merely 
as natural a tendency as is the tendency of water to seek 
a lower level. Besides, it is just these young folks who most 
need it, who so strongly desire to get away from the en- 
nobling influence of the school room. 

Any unfriendly criticism of our system of education is 
harmful, because it weakens public interest and adds to the 


55 


56 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


tendency of young folks to quit school at an early age. If 
these criticisms are the outgrowth of ignorance, the condition 
is bad; if inspired by cunning design it is worse. But, what- 
ever the motive which has inspired it, any unfriendly criti- 
cism of this, our greatest institution, the public school, de- 
serves the closest inspection and analysis at the hands of 
all thoughtful, well meaning people. 

Is it possible that our forefathers, of the time of Horace 
Mann, erred, when they launched the scheme to afford all 
our American youth, alike, an opportunity for a twelve year 
course of character building entirely free of charge? 

In this land, of all things, that the most needed, is that 
every American citizen shall stand staunchly for a program 
which shall see to it that every child born beneath the Stars 
and Stripes shall, at the proper age, enter the public schools 
and there—not just a few of them, but every one of them— 
continue the work until the entire twelve year course is com- 
pleted. 

If such an institution as the American System of universal 
education had been in vogue throughout Europe a thousand 
years ago, there might have been some liars and thieves 
among the school children, but, candidly, does any one be- 
lieve that such a thing as witchcraft, or the Spanish Inquisi- 
tion could ever have come into existence? Yet there are 
folks who believe that, “MORALS, SOMEHOW, HAVE 
DROPPED OUT ALONG THE ROAD OF EDUCA- 
TIONAL PROGRESS.” 

The one thing which all the peoples of the world most 
earnestly desire is that there shall be war no more; that 
there shall come about the spirit of universal peace on earth 
and good will between men. Ministers of the gospel and 
others meet and pass resolutions looking toward the stopping 
of this frightful scourge, war. Some would place their hope 
in the League of Nations; others in the World Court; still 
others, in other devices. All these are laudable movements, 


Our Public Schools ay, 


worthy of encouragement. How would it be, however, if 
all our rulers, all individuals of high influence throughout 
the world, now and for a hundred years, could become im- 
bued with the spirit of Horace Mann to the extent that they 
would see to it that every child born into the world in every 
nation should be furnished, free of charge, a twelve-year 
course of instruction such as that in vogue in the American 
public schools? 

If war is ever ended and universal peace shall come to 
stay, it will be, not because of resolutions; not because of 
good intentions; not because of signed contracts, but it will 
be because of universal education—universal character build- 
ing at public expense. 

Incidents in the history of the United States, extending 
back over the period of the last few generations, should 
afford food for thought for all our citizens. When, at Ap- 
pomattox, in the spring of 1865, Lee, the vanquished, sur- 
rendered his sword to Grant, the same was graciously handed 
back to its owner. The Civil War being over, no punish- 
ment was meted out to those who had rebelled against their 
flag! but, on the contrary, the great Emancipator breathed 
forth the spirit of the victorious, but magnanimous North in 
these memorable words, ‘With malice toward none; with 
charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us 
to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are 
in, to bind up the nation’s wounds; to do all which may 
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves 
and with all nations.” 

In the Spanish-American War, after Admiral Cervera’s 
fleet had gone down, Manila had fallen and Spain was lying 
helpless at our feet, when all which our adversary possessed 
could have been ours by the mere taking over of the same, 
out of the bigness of our heart we gave our unfortunate 
antagonist $20,000,000. 

When the Boxer Rebellion was over, while other inter- 


58 Religious Instruction and the American Public School 


ested nations were carefully looking after all which they 
considered due them, the real spirit which imbues the people 
of our land, on all occasions, came to the surface and the 
indemnities due us were remitted. 

When all diplomacy had been taxed to the limit, and, in 
1917, we were plunged into the great World War, every 
individual in this nation understood at the very outset, 
that we would exact not a single penny, not one square inch 
of territory; that all that we would ask at the close of the 
struggle would be the privilege of bringing back to their 
native shore the remains of our boys who might fall in 
the conflict. 

Despite the opinions of those who are saying, “IT 
SEEMS: THAT IIS NOT THE BUSINESS OPE has 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS: TO. TEACH (THE CHILD. Dighe 
PLAIN AND SIMPLE MORALS. OF EVERY | DAY 
LIVING,” a fair and searching analysis must lead any one 
to the conclusion that this high Christian spirit which al- 
ways manifests itself when our American people are sub- 
jected to a crucial test owes its existence, primarily, to the 
fact that, for generations past, the attributes of God and the 
tenets of Christ have been diligently drilled into the lives 
of our children by that illustrious child of Horace Mann— 
THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL. 

Let every loyal American citizen stand staunchly for our 
system of free schools. For, in every community, whether 
that community be a group of sod shanties on the plains, or 
a metropolitan city, the most worth while enterprise is the 
public school. Upon that foundation, the public school, rests 
the destiny of this nation. Let that foundation be broad, 
sure and strong: then the waves of Bolshevism, anarchy and 
_the other disintegrating forces will surge in vain against our 
shores, while our great democracy goes on into the ages of 
the future all the time stronger and more invincible. 

But, that all may be well with us, it behooves patrons, 


Our Public Schools 59 


taxpayers, and boards of education, now and forever, to 
join in a program, which shall be guided, not by blear-eyed 
myopia, but, by keen far-sighted vision; sustained, not by 
paltry green coated pennies, but by the fullest measure of 
shining dollars, to the end, that, through the ages to come, 
the American public school equipment may be the very best 
possible; and, that there may ever be seen in the ranks 
of the teaching profession, that which is seen to-day, not 
palsied, stiff-jointed anaemia, but brainy, brawny, red- 
blooded activity of the highest type. 





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